1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic device communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern computing systems generally include a number of devices in communication with each other. For example, one device may be a host computer and another device may be a hard drive connected as a peripheral device. Communication (i.e., data transfer) protocols, such as IDE and SCSI, are used to enable communication between the devices. Standard communication protocols have been developed to ensure communication compatibility between various devices. The standard communication protocols provide rigid frameworks and processes for conducting data transfers between devices. For example, Serial AT Attachment (SATA) represents a standard protocol used for communication to and from an internal storage device.
Most standard communication protocols, such as SATA, are interlocked protocols that follow a distinct series of events. Since the distinct series of events occur essentially in real-time, the functionality required to implement the standard communication protocol is typically provided in a hardware state machine. Currently available hardware state machines for implementing the standard communication protocols do not provide for deviation from the standard communication protocol framework and processes. Thus, once a communication sequence is initiated with the currently available hardware state machines, the communication sequence is required to continue without interruption until the communication sequence is successfully completed. Otherwise, the communication sequence will fail.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an apparatus that is capable of performing a device communication process in accordance with a standard protocol, while also allowing for deviation from and return to the device communication process.